What Could Have Been
by Infinite101
Summary: Could Sonea Have Won Both The War And Saved The One She Loves? An alternate ending, Bursting with magic, a duel not to miss and the chance that her lover might be saved, can Sonea go against all odds and have the happy ending we all know she deserves?...


**What could have been..**

**A.n-****Ok this is my first piece of fan fiction, so please be kind. I just finished The HighLord today and had to write about it! It was a great book, and i thought the ending was good, but for some reason this one came to mind later on, so i thought I'd jot it down,**

**Constructive criticism is welcome, ****so if something i wrote doesn't make sense or if I've made some terrible spelling/grammar errors, then just drop me a review and I'll try and fix it.**

**Anyway enough of my yapping it's late and I need sleep, so please feel free to drop a review and enjoy the fic**

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****Disclaimer-**** I do not own any of the characters associated with The Black Magician Trilogy, I only wish I did**

'_-Take my power. Strike while he's distracted. Don't let everything we have done and suffered for come to nothing.'_

She tore her eyes away from his face, which was hard set with determination. She drew in a deep breath and steadied herself for what she was about to do. Drawing power forth she sent strike after strike, moving backwards to the left as she attacked. She touched the blood gem on her ring; _'Trust me. I know what I'm doing …' ' I trust you….' _Akkarin's mind touched hers as he sent her a last burst of power before releasing her arm, she rebounded a stream of it and tried to heal fragments of ruptured organs. His eyes were closed…his face was calm… peaceful.

She turned to face Kariko, his face twisted into a malicious grin as he looked at Akkarin's still form. Keeping her shield steady Sonea rose rapidly into the air, it rushed past her as she gained altitude, now level with the archways of the arena she drew power from it...more and more magic rushed through her… she had never held so much magic. She looked at her hand and saw she was glowing, and was surrounded by a golden aura, The barrier at her skin was letting some of the magic trickle through _'Hmm...I guess this'd be the wrong time to wonder what the limits are to how much magic someone can take…I always thought it was limitless. How is this possible? I can sense so much…' _She could feel the pulse of magic in the arena as it continued to flow through her. She could sense each spark of magic that danced off her now impenetrable shield as Kariko sent each futile force and heat strike after her. He was tiring, she could tell by the intensity of each blow that his strength was rapidly deteriorating. She glided toward him '_wait a minute I'm gliding! …or am I just levitating forward…No…this is something else… _she looked down and saw there was no circle of magic beneath her, _'Whatever I'm doing…i hope it doesn't stop now...if it does...' _Sonea hesitated for a moment as she looked at the drop below her '_come on, get a hold of yourself!'_

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain stab her mind. It was as though someone had tried to scramble her thoughts from the inside out_…mindstrike. Well it looks like Kariko isn't going to back down without a bit more of a fight. How did he break through my barrier?! ..No he hasn't……Akkarin hadn't managed to show me how to block it. _Everyone knewMindstrikes were banned in the guild, and Sonea's training hadn't progressed further enough to teach her how to block them . She panicked for a moment not knowing what to do. She was more powerful than him physically but if he continued with the Mindstrikes she mentally wouldn't be able to handle the assault and would be defeated, It would be a painful and slow death, _he'd rip each memory…. smash each thought…_ She shuddered. _No. I won't let that happen. I'll just have to use my intuition, years in the slums did teach me a thing or two after all. So much for a fair fight...with his hidden daggers and mind strikes left right and centre, Kariko's proving to be an adversary with no more honour than a squimp, _in between the stabbing pains around her head Cery's words fluttered through; _"it's fine wanting a fair fight, so long as they fight the same." _She almost scoffed out load, _fine if Kariko wants to play like that then so be it. Cery I'll make you proud…_

Sonea focused on the presence directing the mind strikes and painfully tried to follow its path. Kariko was leaving his mind unguarded each time he striked her... Faintly aware that the pain in her head was gradually getting worse she waited for the moment Kariko would let his guard down and attack again…_ There. _His mind barrier lifted as he sent another attack towards her, she successfully deflected it and his strike relayed back sending him sprawling to the floor, clutching his temples.

His malicious grin now wiped of his face Kariko gazed in awe as Sonea dwarfed the Sachakan outcast, her black robes billowed behind her, her skin glowed with the magic within her…and her eyes…Kariko visibly gulped as she locked his gaze. Her once brown eyes were now a light gold. Her voice echoed… "This is for Imardin."

She sent one last powerful assault towards him. It circled in five concentric circles, the bright red of the heat strike and the White of the force strike flowed like petals of an exotic plant, similar to the ones from her duel with Regin. The force strike obliterated his shield instantly; she saw his pupils dilate with fear just before the scarlet heat strike charred his body and he dropped limply to the cold hard ground.

Sonea hastily dropped to the floor, running to Akkarin's still form; _don't be dead…don't be dead…please don't let him be dead... _Sonea sent her mind forth looking for anything, a single spark of life. Tears scorched her face as she silently sobbed; her skin still glowed with all the magic she held... _With all the power I have, there must be something I can do._ Her heart twisted in pain as she thought of everything that had happened, all he had sacrificed… all he had been through. The ground cracked slightly as she struggled to grasp the grief that threatened to overcome her. _No. I must remain in control._She thought of the destruction she had created when she lost control of her powers the last time. That was so long ago, and if that had caused so much damage with just that amount of magic she shuddered to think what'd happen if she lost control now, with the combined strength of two Black Magicians, the other defeated Ichani, the magic from the dwells, and the arena…. She looked at her hands, they were still glowing…she could barely contain the magic that threatened to consume her. She let in a deep breath and opened her mind to the part of her where her magic was kept; she strengthened the barrier as Akkarin has shown her to before. She opened her eyes and saw that while she still had a golden aura her skin had stopped glowing. She wouldn't, no _couldn't_let go… Akkarin couldn't be dead…she was sure she'd given him back some magic…she was _so_ sure…

Sonea could sense everything…with all of the magic inside her she could detect even the smallest shimmer left in the arena; she could hear Balkan dictating what had happened to the other magicians through images that were to her crystal clear, she could hear him as though he was standing right beside her. She could feel the hum of magic surrounding him, Rothen and Dorrien. She could sense the teeniest trickle of magic emitted from them… She closed her eyes and could sense a whole other world, where magic sparkled in the tiniest of beings; she could see particles of it flutter through the air. From the aftermath of such a battle magic was everywhere. She smiled grimly to herself; _under different circumstances I'd consider all this to be strangely beautiful… _Then she felt something prickle her senses, a faint flutter of magic barely detectable and almost gone, she looked down at Akkarin's still face, then held her breath as she focused on the magic around her. Again she felt the presence, it was barely there, like heartbeat, it came and then faded. Sonea sent all of her power forward and gently placed Akkarin's head on her lap and put her hand on the deep cut that sliced his side. She simultaneously sent a stream of magic through him, urging his body to unconsciously start healing itself, then healed each piece of tissue, each vein each artery she could, as she drew out the knife... Her knowledge on healing was limited but with the amount of magic she has consumed she no longer needed to know which part to heal first, it was like seeing with different eyes, she could feel each bit of tissue as it merged back together but she still couldn't feel him work to heal himself too. _After all i might be able to heal him but what if he was already too far gone_…, she pushed those dark thoughts from her mind as she continued to heal him. She searched his mind _come on heal yourself…just try…_she searched for a sign of life in his mind, memories, thoughts…anything. As she felt the last few nerves stitch together and the skin around his wound merge, she frantically tried to get him to say something…anything...

A memory flashed before her;_ 'A face, framed by hair shining in the morning sunlight. Eyes…so dark…and pale, perfect skin..' _

She blinked as she realised it was the memory of when she first saw how Akkarin felt about her, the image faded and merged into one she didn't recognise; '_A woman with a pale face and shiny black hair, skin that glowed in the light of a fading golden light, eyes that shone hazel... slowly fading back to a rich chocolate brown, a husky voice fluttered through the vision...'how I love her eyes_…'

Sonea looked down at Akkarin, his head still rested in her lap and a small smile curled at the edge of his lips_ 'Is it done? …' _Sonea smiled drawing in a deep breath, utterly exhausted _'It's done...' _she replied. Before letting the world fade around her as she drifted into a blissful sleep, filled with images of waterfalls, a certain ex-HighLord and hopes for the future…

**A.N- For more info about what's going to happen with the story like sequels/updates, just check out my profile i explained it all there :)**


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